Compact apparatus and system for creating and dispensing cushioning dunnage

Abstract

A system for creating and dispensing cushioning dunnage is small and permits flexible installation configuration options for a single or multiple packing stations. A compact apparatus of the system is capable of being pivotally mounted as a unit on a stand and includes a motor and a material feeding arrangement driven by the motor for pulling material from a supply roll of the material supported on a stand of the system, and feeding it through the apparatus. A plurality of material shaping members upstream of the feeding arrangement shape the material in the apparatus to convert it into a continuous strip of cushioning product. The feeding arrangement in one embodiment includes cooperating feed rollers, at least one of which is a rotary cutting die having a plurality of cutting blades on its surface for cutting slits in the material at spaced locations along the length of the material to allow an operator to manually rip a desired length of cushioning product from the material being dispensed from the apparatus.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.